


Beautiful Stranger

by Kabieee



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Domestic Disputes, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Song Lyrics, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 17:21:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29439651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kabieee/pseuds/Kabieee
Summary: I've never recognized a purer faceYou stopped me in my tracks and put me right in my placeUsed to think that lovin' meant a painful chaseBut you're right here now and I think you'll stay(finally // beautiful stanger by halsey)Happy Valentine's Day! ♥♥♥♥♥
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Sylvain Jose Gautier
Comments: 6
Kudos: 46





	Beautiful Stranger

**Author's Note:**

  * For [agrptrtrmnt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/agrptrtrmnt/gifts).



> This is a gift for my sweet maggie!! she mentioned wanting an au of this song ♥ i listened to it and was immediately hit with modern sylvix feels,,, this song is perfect TAT
> 
> this one's a bit different than my normal style of fic so i hope you enjoy!! i'm hoping to expand on this au in the future once other projects happen!

_Your eyes, so crisp, so green  
Sour apple baby, but you taste so sweet  
You got hips like Jagger and two left feet  
And I wonder if you'd like to meet_

The first time Sylvain met Felix, he never knew just how much the other man would sink his teeth and nails into his heart. It was the kind of grasp no one had ever held over him, the kind he’d dreamt about since he was a kid. Stories of this kind of affection had always fueled his flirting, an unhealthy habit that formed from his desire to find someone to be close to.

Felix was quite sour in the beginning. They’d first interacted because Sylvain’s ex-girlfriend liked to get drunk and storm around their top floor apartment like a tornado. Felix had come up one night to ask them if she could keep it down, to which she’d yelled in his face and slammed the door.

Sylvain had given her a glare as she slunk down onto the couch to pass out, hurrying outside to profusely apologize to their neighbor.

“Hey—I’m so, _so_ sorry about her,” he’d spoken up, fretfully reaching his hand out to lightly stop the stranger. Felix, before he’d known his name, had turned around quickly with a scowl on his face. He was handsome, with dark navy hair falling down around his face as though he’d been asleep. Sylvain’s heart had jumped up into his throat upon seeing him, hoping the way his breath hitched in his throat hadn’t been too apparent, nor the blush that crept onto his cheeks. “She’s… really drunk right now. I’m sorry for her behavior.”

The handsome neighbor just stared at him for a minute. His brows were furrowed and his hands had formed fists down at his sides.

“I… appreciate the apology,” he’d finally spoken up, allowing his shoulders to relax somewhat in the breezeway. “My father lives with me and… he’s old. I just didn’t want him to be woken up when he’d finally settled in for the night.”

“Oh, Sothis… again, I’m really sorry,” Sylvain had sighed in exasperation, glaring back at his door and shaking his head. “I’ll make sure she doesn’t do that. I’m gonna go help her to bed. I hope your dad gets some rest… I’m Sylvain, by the way. I’m sorry we had to be introduced via this situation, but it’s nice to meet you!”

“Felix,” he’d replied. His hand had come out to shake Sylvain’s, surprising the redhead with how calloused it was. But his grasp was firm and warm, Sylvain feeling butterflies in his stomach when they touched.

After that, Sylvain saw Felix almost every day. He went on morning jogs around seven, always waving to Felix and his father whenever he passed by the porch on the ground floor. Felix had a sweet cat who would wait on the railing for him, meowing as Sylvain came down the stairs for pets. His father would always smile kindly and return his wave, nudging his son when Felix would only acknowledge the redhead with a curt nod. Rodrigue, Felix’s father, would always have a cold glass of water for him when he returned even if Sylvain had a water bottle in his hand. The gestures were nice and appreciated, particularly because of Sylvain having to return upstairs to his girlfriend.

The spark had been gone for a while. Kicking her out, breaking up, and potentially finding a new place to live, however, had stopped him from just ending things. They didn’t even sleep in the same room anymore, Sylvain only going into the master bedroom anymore to get clothes out of the closet.

As his friendship with Felix developed, his true feelings for her slipped out every now and then.

_Your voice is velvet through a telephone  
You can come to mine, but both my roommates are home  
Think I know a bar where they would leave us alone  
And I wonder if you'd take it slow_

Sylvain’s phone rang, a smile crossing his face when he saw it was Felix. He stood up from the couch, unaware of the look his girlfriend gave him as he disappeared into their second bedroom. He answered after shutting the door and relaxing on the bed.

“Hey, Felix! What’s up?”

“Hey. I was wondering if you wanted to go out tonight. My father is out with my brother, and as much as I’d like to have the apartment to myself for a little bit, I’m actually excited about getting out.”

“Oh, yeah, that’d be fun! Where were you thinking?”

As they went over the details, Sylvain could sense his girlfriend had perched herself right outside the guest room door, listening in on his half of the conversation. He frowned as he told Felix he’d be down in about fifteen minutes, dropping his phone into his pocket after her ended the call.

“Something wrong?” he asked her dryly, opening the door to see her standing there with her arms crossed.

“Who was that?” she asked, a notable edge to her voice.

“Felix. From downstairs. We’re gonna go out to a bar and have a few drinks.”

“Oh, yeah? Did you think about inviting me?”

Sylvain balked at her attitude, unsure of where this odd desire to hang out with him all of the sudden had come from. She’d been on her phone all day, chatting with people Sylvain knew weren’t just her friends. She’d barely spoken a single word to him since they’d both sat down in the living room, so the demand instantly got under his skin.

“Not particularly, no.” The niceties had long since gone from their conversations. Her scoff just fueled the anger bubbling in his stomach more, but instead of lashing out (like he knew she was about to do) he simply walked past her and went to the bathroom to brush his hair.

“You know, maybe this is why I drink so much. It’s pretty lonely living with a boyfriend who doesn’t care about me.”

Sylvain whipped around and stared her down. It was the same gaslighting she always tried to use whenever Sylvain tried to stand up for himself and not go along with how she wanted things. He’d grown tired of it long ago, but in this particular moment it outright infuriated him.

“No, you drink because you’re an alcoholic. You were like that before I met you. I know one when I see it,” he murmured, standing his ground and not wavering under her intense, accusatory gaze. She immediately launched into a screaming fit, hands clawing at his shirt and feet aiming for kicks to his skin. Sylvain managed to slip into the bathroom and lock the door, closing his eyes with a deep sigh as she banged on it roughly.

_Is everything okay?_

A text from Felix buzzed through on his phone. Sylvain clutched it silently and managed to even his breathing. Flashbacks of Miklan’s screaming fits from their teenage years were beginning to give him a headache, each pound of the door against his back making his heart race quicker in his chest. He shakily responded to Felix.

_Everything is okay for now. She’ll calm down soon._

Sylvain pointedly ignored his girlfriend. There was a feeling inside of him that tonight might be it for good for them, knowing the last thing he wanted was to come back to this apartment later with their relationship intact. It was already frayed and barely hanging on, but the physical attack she’d dished out to him was certainly the last straw. He thought he’d been supportive with the drinking, the yelling, the embarrassing behavior from her for long enough.

When she eventually stopped banging on the door, he crept out of the bathroom. Sylvain could hear her packing a bag in the master bedroom, so he slowly walked to the doorway to see whose clothes she was throwing into it. For once, they appeared to be her own.

“I’m leaving. I can’t do this anymore.”

Sylvain didn’t have it in him to ask her to stay. His brain was fuzzy with relief as she gathered her things.

The next few weeks were some of the happiest of Sylvain’s life. He only heard from his ex-girlfriend once, and that was so her new boyfriend (who had replaced Sylvain in her heart a year prior) could come get her furniture and the rest of her stuff. A mostly empty apartment didn’t matter when the pain and heartache she’d put him through had been immediately lifted off his shoulders. The quiet and peace that surrounded him when she wasn’t in a drunken rage every night of the week resulted in a better night’s rest than he’d gotten in years.

_Oh, we're dancin' in my livin' room  
And up come my fists  
And I say I'm only playing, but  
The truth is this  
That I've never seen a mouth that I would kill to kiss  
And I'm terrified, but I can't resist_

The first time Sylvain asked him on a date, Felix thought he was kidding. He’d scoffed and rolled his eyes, going back to the bagel Sylvain had brought him from the bakery down the street after his morning run. They were out on Felix’s porch, sipping their warm coffees and listening to the early-morning birds chirping happily in the magnolia trees their building was surrounded by. It was a lovely late-winter morning, only a small chill in the air as they enjoyed being outside together.

“No, Fe, I mean it. I… wanna take you out. Just us. And maybe kiss you after.”

“You’re insane. What the hell do you want to date me for?”

Sylvain was quiet as he scooted his chair closer to Felix. His large hand came down over the younger man’s and rested as his cheeks flushed pink, his honey eyes avoided looking directly into Felix’s copper ones.

“You treat me like I’m a person,” Sylvain had chuckled nervously and quietly, inadvertently squeezing his friend’s hand. “I really like being around you. We met under weird circumstances… but look where we are now.”

Felix, even though he wasn’t the mushy, romantic type, couldn’t deny the setting was straight out of a movie. He was certain his father was spying on them from inside, probably rubbing his hands together in delight when he saw that his youngest son was smiling and happy with another person. And being Sylvain wasn’t exactly difficult. Sylvain listened to him when he complained about lazy people at the gym, smiled whenever Felix got embarrassed over something the redhead said. His flirting had begun to fill his ears and insides happily instead of discomfort and irritation.

Part of Felix was worried, though. He knew all that Sylvain had gone through, witnessing a lot of the bad days Sylvain had with his ex-girlfriend. Sylvain wasn’t one to immediately lash out and yell, no matter how angry he was or how poorly he was treated. It was the opposite of what Felix had gone through with his ex-boyfriend, but the scars from that relationship still existed beneath seemingly healed skin. Would Sylvain still like him as they grew closer and intimate? Could Felix let himself get his hopes up once again for someone to actually love him?

Felix returned the loving squeeze to Sylvain’s hand. He nodded in agreement with the date, unable to keep a smile off his face when the other reacted with abject joy.

Their first date got (almost) comically rained out. A storm hit their city, with roads becoming so flooded that they were unable to physically drive to the restaurant where Sylvain had made reservations. He’d been upset, initially, apologizing to Felix profusely as Felix cooked them dinner in Sylvain’s apartment (Felix had refused to do it downstairs at his place, knowing Rodrigue would gush about how lucky he was to be on a date with someone as handsome as Sylvain).

“Doesn’t matter where we are, really. It’s… just nice to be with you,” Felix had replied, physically turning his head away from Sylvain as a deep crimson ripped across his cheeks. Sylvain was quiet until he stepped lightly behind Felix at the stove and gently wrapped his arms around his front, sighing out happily as he buried his nose down in Felix’s soft hair.

“Yeah. I agree.”

_And I said  
Beautiful stranger, here you are in my arms and I know  
That beautiful strangers only come along to do me wrong  
And I hope  
Beautiful stranger, here you are in my arms  
But I think it's finally, finally, finally, finally, finally safe  
For me to fall_

With the plates cleared away, Felix nearly crawled up into Sylvain’s lap as they kissed. Rain still poured outside and beat on the windows as hands clutched both clothes and skin. Felix wanted nothing more than to be here with Sylvain, to be wrapped up in his embrace and warmed by the heat both his body and heart gave off. Damn his fears, damn his hesitation, this felt right.

But he was still terrified it all might crumble down. He could never be so lucky to have and keep someone as wonderful as Sylvain.

Sylvain felt his shoulders shaking, noticed how his brows were furrowed as desperate, small noises of pleasure and desire were being held back by the younger man. He squeezed his shoulders and pressed their foreheads together, running his fingers carefully through his navy hair.

“Are you okay, Fe?” Sylvain asked him with worry, moving his hands up and down his shoulders in the hopes it would comfort Felix.

“Yes. I’m sorry,” Felix murmured, upset with himself that his own hang ups had made Sylvain feel worried. He put his hands on Sylvain’s cheeks and kissed him long and meaningfully, squeezing around the redhead’s legs with his own. “Now’s not the time for my life’s story but… I’m just. Very happy. To be with you. I promise.”

The smile on Sylvain’s face helped to melt some of the ice built up around Felix’s heart. He nodded understandingly and wrapped up Felix in a bear hug on his lap, laughing loudly when Felix grunted from how tightly he squeezed him. Their next kiss was deep and slow, lasting even as Felix slid off Sylvain’s lap and got to his feet. He wordlessly pulled up Sylvain with him and gently pulled him to the open space between the coffee table and fireplace, where a warm fire had been cackling since Felix had dashed up from downstairs in the rain.

They danced to no music at all. Only the soft sighs from Sylvain against Felix’s hair and the rain against the windows accompanied them as they quietly moved across the living room. Felix tried not to let the comfort and happiness he was feeling in the situation build up his hopes, but the way Sylvain held him made him slip past a simple crush on Sylvain into his soft kisses against his forehead and lips beating down the door to his heart.

For Sylvain, it was no different. This one person had seen him during particularly rough times in his life, yet their souls had come together after heartbreak and strife. Having Felix around like this was how things were _supposed_ to feel when you loved someone. Felix wouldn’t threaten him with harsh words or physical violence, having been there for him multiple times when his ex-girlfriend had. Felix was calm with him even when he grew impatient, and always listened to what Sylvain had to say.

Before long, both Sylvain and Felix could (and would never think of) denying they loved each other very much. Fears and anxieties that had wracked them previously were by no means eradicated, but in each other they found a solid rock of love and support.

Part of Sylvain wanted to cheekily text his ex and thank her for being the reason he and Felix got together, but then he just looked at Felix sitting next to him on the couch. He’d moved downstairs with he and Rodrigue, and currently, the three of them were relaxing and watching some cheesy, tacky romcom on the tv. Felix had his cat in his lap, and he himself was snuggled lovingly next to Sylvain. Rodrigue smiled at him when their eyes met, giving his son’s boyfriend a gentle, happy nod. Texting her wouldn’t do anything positive for anybody, so he set down his phone and wrapped his arms around the man he loved. This was much better, and this was right.

_I've never recognized a purer face  
You stopped me in my tracks and put me right in my place  
Used to think that lovin' meant a painful chase  
But you're right here now and I think you'll stay_


End file.
